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Brit 'trapped and homeless' in Dubai blocked from returning home for mum's funeral

British veteran John Murphy, 60, has spent 10 years 'trapped' in the UAE, unable to work or leave the country, living on the streets of Dubai battling to survive scorching temperatures

A British veteran has been left trapped and homeless unable to return from Dubai, even to attend his mothers funeral.

John Murphy, 60, has spent the past decade living on the streets of the glamourous gulf city after he was arrested in 2015.

John was originally arrested in neighbouring Abu Dhabi in 2015 and briefly jailed while he awaited trial following a disagreement with a security guard. He was later acquitted but owed his landlord money for rent not paid while he was in jail.

When he was unable to pay his landlord the government seized Johns possessions and banned him from leaving the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where both Abu Dhabi and Dubai are located.

The grandad and ex-British soldier has also been blocked from working since 2017 - he says the only way for him to leave his life on the scorching streets of Dubai would be to commit a crime and get deported back to the UK, which he refuses to do.

[John Murphy was banned from leaving to country and is not allowed to work]

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John Murphy was banned from leaving to country and is not allowed to work(Image: Jam Press/Detained In Dubai)

Now Johns last remaining parent, mother Patricia Reidy, has now died suddenly from a brain haemorrhage. But the cruel conditions imposed by the UAE mean he has been refused once again to leave Dubai to attend her funeral in Ireland.

I'm an only child and have always had a tight knit bond with mum, John told Detained In Dubai.

The thought of not being there physically to see her off is a shame on me and will raise questions about my non attendance that could have far reaching negative impacts on close family and friends.

John turned 60 on 29 Jul, spending another year of his life trapped in the hostile conditions of the UAE. The veteran from Limerick has now spent the last decade sleeping rough whilst battling to survive the excruciating summer heat.

The brutal temperatures alongside a lack of medical attention has led to him developing an aggressive form of skin cancer. "My biggest issue is finding shade and potable water, John explained.

[John Murphy has been blocked from leaving the country to return home for his mothers funeral]

View 2 Images

John Murphy has been blocked from leaving the country to return home for his mothers funeral(Image: Jam Press/Detained In Dubai)

Your instinct every day starts with that. It's a brutal existence and I have my military training to fall back on, even after all these years.

The joys of Dubai. All day trying to fry you but when that doesn't work it chucks a dust storm at you to suffocate you.

John added: Based on my last salary I've calculated that over the eleven years I've been prohibited from working, I've lost out on earnings totalling 1.5m.

This would have cleared any debt as I've never had debt in my life. Once my balance got below 15,000 dirhams they would add further cases.

This has been going on for eleven years where they've bled me dry and left me destitute for something I never did. Since all my savings have been eroded in constant government penalties, donations dried up and even a small box partition became unfeasible.

Despite committing no crime I've had an eleven year sentence that has no sign of ending. It feels that the only option for people in my position is to commit a crime that warrants deportation. I pointedly refused as I never committed a crime in the first instance.

Yet they've banned me from working and banned me from leaving. It's a whole life sentence."

Radha Stirling from Detained In Dubai, has been helping share Johns story with the world. They are now calling on the UAE authorities to immediately lift the restrictions preventing him from returning home.

This will allow him at last to bury his mother and begin rebuilding a life that has been placed on hold for more than a decade.

A GoFundMe has been started in his name with a target of 35,000 and the aim of getting him back to the UK and to receive urgent medical and dental treatment.

Radha Stirling said: No civilised justice system should leave a man homeless, unable to work, unable to leave the country, and powerless to attend his own mother's funeral.

Today should have been a celebration of John's 60th birthday with his family.

Instead, he is grieving alone on the streets of Dubai, wondering whether anyone in authority will show the compassion that has so far been absent.

John requires medical attention and reminds me substantially of the case of the late David Oliver, an American who was held as a debt hostage and only survived a short few months after finally being allowed to return home.

The Dubai debt trap is killing people".

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